The bitter taste of betrayal lingered in the air like smoke from a fire still smoldering beneath the ruins of everything Alessia had believed in. The cold stare of the traitor burned into her mind as he disappeared back into the shadows, a ghost vanishing with a final, mocking promise. The door slammed shut behind him, leaving Alessia and Lorenzo alone in the suffocating silence.
Her chest heaved with ragged breaths, the adrenaline now replaced by a deep, sinking dread. Every nerve screamed at her to run, to hide, but the weight of what had just happened pinned her to the spot. The truth was out—someone so close, so trusted, had been the architect of their undoing. The war had become personal, and the stakes had never been higher.
Lorenzo moved first, his voice a low growl breaking the s
